HAWK
by Nadia-chan
Summary: SasuSaku. With a change of work, Sakura expected a break from her dreary existence. What she didn't expect was being kidnapped by Konoha's most dangerous assassin.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** My first Naruto story, so don't expect too much :) I would classify this as 'Semi-AU' as the setting of the story is the same as canon, but many of the events which took place in canon haven't been included. Basically this is a "Orochimaru who? Akatsuki who?" story where the Kyuubi was never released. Things might seem confusing at first, but hopefully they'll get clearer as the story progresses.

Also, I have not seen the anime. So my knowledge of canon is limitted to the manga. Bewarned that there will be SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA till chapter 400 or so.

* * *

**-1-**

Sakura was quite certain that her job was the most boring and insipid one in entire Konoha. And considering that Konoha was a very sleepy village in itself, this was saying something.

She sifted through the piles of medical records placed precariously on her desk to pull out a file belonging to a certain 'Himiko Kudou'.

Stifling a yawn, she read the contents out loud to herself. "Hmm…Himiko Kudou…age 12. Medical history…no record of serious ailments. Current medical examination reveals complete physical and mental fitness…." Her attention turned to a huge list of names held in her other hand. Picking up a pen, she ticked the small square next to the name 'Kudou, Himiko'. "Pass," she proclaimed and carelessly threw the file on top of another pile on the floor.

"Sakura, you could be bit quieter, you know. People are trying to sleep here."

Sakura threw a glare at Shikamaru Nara, her so-called assistant. Not that he lifted a muscle to do any work. Unless you counted the thin muscles in his eyelids, which lifted occasionally to glare at her for disturbing his sleep. Currently, said assistant was lounging in his chair, legs propped up on his desk and frowning at her in irritation.

"Don't you give me that look, Shikamaru! I'm running out of patience with my job as it is. Now if make another remark about how I'm disturbing your daily quota of 20 hours of sleep, I'll just snap and report your lazy ass to Tsunade!"

Shikamaru's frown vanished at her outburst and he gazed at her, considering her threat. He and Sakura had known each other since their days as students in the Academy and had always been the thickest of friends. Even now, in the office of the Genin Medical Evaluation Center of the Ninja Academy, Sakura was more of a friend to him than a boss. There were several occasions were Shikamaru would forget that she had the power to fire him.

It was true that he hardly helped her with her work, but it wasn't as if she required his help in the first place. Their job was to evaluate the medical fitness of each student in the Academy and determine if he/she was fit to be a ninja, or more specifically a genin. It was admittedly a very dull job and one that Sakura truly and clearly hated. There was hardly anything to do except paperwork as they never did any proper medical examination. The job description suited him just fine. But Sakura was a woman of action and Shikamaru had to admit that she was wasted in a place like this.

He considered her indignant expression for another moment before saying, "It's that time of the month again, isn't it?"

Sakura spluttered in annoyance. "Why is it that whenever my voice goes one notch above my usual tone, you decide that I have PMS?"

"Well, then what's wrong with you?" he asked irritably. And regretted it the moment the words left his lips.

Sakura huffed. "What's wrong with me? I'll tell you. It's my job…that's what's wrong with me!" She slammed the list of student names on her desk. "I can't believe I spent years of rigorous training at the Academy and then another three years with Tsunade for this!" She gestured around her office, which was full of shelves messily stuffed with files and paperwork.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Look at the bright side. At least there's no fighting involved."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

He gave her a half-smile before lounging back into his chair and bringing one arm over his eyes. "It's what I say to make myself feel better."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Typical, she thought. Intelligence combined with laziness gets you nowhere. Shikamaru had the capacity for greatness but a serious lack of ambition. Sakura wondered if what she felt for him was pity or frustration.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka envied a lot of things about Sakura Haruno. For one, she envied Sakura her job. A job where she could quietly relax behind closed doors and not worry for her life. Absently fingering the ugly bruise on her left arm, which had been the result of her most recent mission, Ino scanned the crowd of the little restaurant for the familiar mop of rose-colored hair.

"Ino!" came a yell from her right and she suddenly found herself engulfed in a tight hug. She smiled and returned the hug. "Sakura…"

Sakura pulled away and gave her a bright smile, absently brushing a lock of hair from her face.

That was another thing Ino envied about Sakura. She was a late bloomer, but her transformation had been quite spectacular. Gone was the nervous, waif-like girl Ino had befriended so many years back. In her place stood a confident, intelligent medical-nin who made heads turn wherever she went.

"God, Ino…you look terrible! What happened?"

Ino sighed. "You know how these missions can get. I'm so exhausted I could sleep for days!"

Sakura smiled in sympathy. "You've been gone for over a month. You deserve some rest."

Ino waved her hand in dismissal. "Tell that to Tsunade." She shook her head. "There are times when I desperately wish I had a job like yours."

Sakura's smile dropped immediately. "Please, let's not discuss my job right now."

"Why is that?" Ino smiled mischievously. "I heard you created quite a stir in the Academy while I was gone."

"Oh…that? That was no big deal. Just doing my work."

Ino chuckled. "Ever the modest Sakura. You do realize that not many people in Konoha would dare fail the Third Hokage's own grandson."

"Konohamaru was deeply disturbed by his grandfather's death. He was mentally unfit to become a ninja…" Sakura said matter-of-factly.

Ino wagged her finger. "Doesn't change the fact that you've got some balls, girl." She laughed softly. "What are you doing wasting your life in that dead place?"

Sakura raised her arms in resignation. "Tell that to Tsunade," she repeated back at her friend.

They spent the better part of an hour catching up. As much as Ino envied her for certain things, like Sakura being Tsunade's favorite, she still loved spending time with her best friend. They had been best friends since childhood, though that wasn't how it had always been. After three years of close friendship, something had drawn them apart to the point of bitter enmity. Or more specifically, someone.

Sasuke Uchiha.

But that factor no longer remained. Sasuke was dead...had been so for the past two years. And it was the mourning that had brought the two former friends back together.

Sakura never talked about him anymore. Ino knew it was a painful topic for her and begrudgingly admitted to herself that Sakura's loss had been greater than hers. After all, Sakura had been in the same team as him and had grown closer to the man than Ino could've ever hoped to.

That was another thing Ino had envied Sakura for. But not any longer.

Ino smacked her forehead. "Wait, I almost forgot to tell you something. Ibiki Morino said he wanted to see you."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Ibiki Morino? You don't mean that Ibiki Morino…?"

Ino remembered the scarred, imposing man who had conducted the first phase of their chuunin exam so many years back and empathized with Sakura's nervousness. Ibiki's mere presence was enough to make your palm's sweat. Ino nodded grimly.

Sakura frowned. "Why? What does he suddenly want with me?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing he wants to offer you a new job." She jumped when her shoulders were grabbed and a wide-eyed Sakura stared at her in shock. "What? Seriously? A new job?" the pink-haired girl asked excitedly, all traces of nervousness suddenly gone.

"Yeah…"

Sakura sank back in her seat. "We've been talking for more than an hour and you tell me this now?"

Ino grinned sheepishly. "I forgot…and honestly, I didn't expect you to be so happy about this. That man is a sadist and an expert in physical and mental torture. He's the head of the ANBU Interrogation and Torture Squad, for crying out loud! I would be quite scared if he asked me to come and work with him."

"I don't care. I just want to get out of this job before I die of boredom."

Ino shrugged. "It's your choice. Whatever he has to offer you, it's bound to be something twisted. Don't say I didn't warn you." She paused before continuing. "If you're planning to leave your current job, could I have it? I mean, if you could recommend my name to Tsunade…"

Sakura laughed. "Yes, you can have it. But since you warned me, I have to warn you too…it's a place where time stands still."

Ino smiled. "Well, as long as I don't have to fear for my life every single day…"

"By the way, your interest for my job doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Shikamaru is my assistant, does it?" Sakura teased.

Ino snorted and looked away. "Please, I have better taste than that."

What Ino envied the most about Sakura was the fact that she got to meet Shikamaru on such a regular basis, but she would never admit that. Not even to herself.

* * *

The ANBU headquarters were hardly impressive. Just a bunch of small building grouped together haphazardly. Sakura had to ask around a lot to finally locate the office of the Torture and Interrogation Squad. She'd decidedly ignored the raised eyebrows and suspicious glances thrown her way.

"Sakura Haruno. This way please." Ibiki spotted her and gestured at her to follow him.

Sakura bit her lip in nervousness. Ibiki Morino hadn't changed at all from what she had seen on the first day of her chuunin exam. If anything, the scars on his face now seemed more prominent and he seemed more terrifyingly commanding than ever.

"In here, Miss Haruno."

They entered a room, lined with shelves filled with voluminous files and books. Sakura was strongly reminded of her own office and had a sudden doubt if she would be condemned to do paperwork here as well.

"Please sit down." Ibiki pointed to the many chairs placed around the room. Sakura chose one and sat down, looking up at the man enquiringly.

Ibiki crossed his arms. "Firstly, the reason I called you here. I have a mission for you."

Sakura nodded.

"It's not exactly a mission. More of an assignment. It's not easy though and not everyone's up to it. The Fifth Hokage recommended you as the best candidate for this."

She gulped unconsciously, nervousness overtaking her desire for more interesting work. Maybe Ino was right…maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

Ibiki turned away and started walking towards one of the shelves. "This room…this is the ANBU library." He paused in front of a shelf titled 'U'. "Miss Haruno, do you know what an ANBU is?"

"Um… protectors of the village…" she answered unsurely.

"Spies," he corrected. "We are basically spies. No one knows our true identity. No one knows our true mission." He picked out a thick file from the shelf and turned to face her. "But in the ANBU library, it's all there. Every sordid detail, every dirty little secret. Of every ANBU, known and unknown."

He walked back to her. "You are a medic-nin Miss Haruno and I hear you specialize in gauging the mental state of a person by mere skin-to-skin contact."

"That's the gist of it, yes."

"And your current job is to evaluate students at the Academy to see if they are fit enough for the life of a ninja."

Sakura nodded.

"Then I want you to evaluate the mental condition of a certain ANBU who has been giving us a lot of trouble lately." He held out the file he had taken from the shelves.

Sakura took the file and placed it on her lap. On the cover were the words 'Uchiha, Sasuke. Codename: HAWK'. She felt her blood run cold. Looking up, she asked incredulously, "You want me to evaluate the mental condition of a dead man?"

Ibiki chuckled darkly. "This might come as a shock to you, Miss Haruno, but Sasuke Uchiha is very much alive."

* * *

**A/N**: Reviews are love :)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** A big hug to all those who reviewed :D Thank you so much! I'm glad you all like the story. Hope you like this next chapter too...Sasuke makes his entrance...:)

**(Edit:** I wasn't very happy with the flow of this chapter. So I edited it a bit. No drastic changes to the plot or anything, just added a couple of sentences here and there.**)**

* * *

**-2-**

"I'm sorry Sa-Sakura…Sasuke...he…he…"

It was the look in Naruto's eyes, more than the words he spoke that had broken Sakura's spirit. Dead and devoid of hope. It was very unsettling to see that look on someone who never gave up even in the direst circumstances. It made Sakura want to shake him by the shoulders and force him to tell her that everything was going to be alright, that things would go back to what they were, that Sasuke was still…

But she had refrained. She quietly accepted the truth, bottled her emotions and locked them away in a dark corner of her mind. She didn't want to cry in front of Naruto and make him feel guilty.

Kakashi had advised her not to see the body. It was charred beyond recognition, she was told. Even if that hadn't been the case, Sakura didn't think she had the strength to see the proof of his death.

This was two long years back and she was finally coming to terms with it.

"This might come as a shock to you, Miss Haruno, but Sasuke Uchiha is very much alive."

To say that she was shocked on hearing this from Ibiki would be an understatement. For a moment she thought this was one of his twisted jokes. But then he continued.

"Before you open that file, Miss Haruno, I want you to be aware of the ANBU Code of Secrecy. It's nothing elaborate; just says that if you divulge anything to anyone that you aren't supposed to…" His eyes flashed and his voice took on a dangerous edge. "…within hours you'll be in separate pieces for the wolves to feed on."

Sakura gulped. She felt like she was going to explode from the varied emotions swirling in her head.

"However, I don't feel the need to threaten you to keep secrets. You are smarter than that. But you must realize that what I'm about to tell you is extremely confidential information. You must, under no circumstances, reveal this to anyone outside this room. Not even if it is the Fifth who comes up to you and asks you to do so."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Not even to the Hokage?"

Ibiki smirked. "There are many things about the ANBU that the Fifth doesn't know. And what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Sakura stared at him, completely taken aback by his answer. What am I getting myself into, she thought wildly.

He cleared his throat. "I believe Sasuke was part of Team Kakashi, the same team you were part of?"

"Yes…"

"That was just a ruse. Sasuke has been an ANBU for the past 4 years."

"You mean Sasuke was an ANBU while he was on Team 7?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"Yes. He was inducted as an ANBU two years before his 'death'."

"But he never…"

"Told you?" Ibiki raised an eyebrow. "Of course he didn't tell you. He wasn't supposed to. He was undercover."

"Then what was his mission?"

"He didn't have just one mission. There were many undercover missions he carried out during his time in Team 7. I don't have the patience or time to tell you all. You'll find all the relevant details in that file." He pointed to the little bundle in her hand.

"But why did he fake his own death?"

Ibiki's lips slowly curled into a smirk. "Because I told him to." Seeing Sakura's confused expression, he continued. "Miss Haruno, I'll tell you an ANBU secret that might surprise you…us ANBU, we don't get along very well with each other. It was the same case with Sasuke. He had many enemies among the ANBU, people who considered him a threat, people who wanted him dead."

"Who?"

Ibiki chuckled. "Now, Miss Haruno, we ANBU may not like each other but we know better than to tell on the other. That secret, for your safety as well as mine, will remain a secret." He paused. "So, as I was saying, Sasuke had many enemies. And these enemies were very high up the order. They had the power to have him assassinated and make it seem like an accident. So I told him to pretend to be killed during one of your B-Rank missions. He did exactly as I said. That day, two years back, Sasuke Uchiha died and Hawk was born."

Sakura reeled. This was too much information in too little time. She hadn't come mentally prepared for this.

"After that things went smoothly for a while. Hawk became one of our finest and most efficient assassins. But a couple of months back, they found out Hawk's true identity. But this time they were forced to acknowledge his usefulness, that he's a valuable asset to the ANBU. However, they still want him out. So…"

"So?"

"So they decided to label him mentally unstable."

"What? That's completely absurd! Sasuke's not 'mentally unstable'!"

"Miss Haruno, you don't know half the things about Sasuke. And honestly speaking, for the past few months he does seem a bit…disturbed…"

"What do you mean?"

Ibiki shrugged. "Perhaps it's the stress getting to him. Or the ghosts of all those murders catching up to him. I don't know. This is where you come in. I want you to find out what's wrong with him."

Sakura gave him a skeptical look.

"Look Miss Haruno, I'm on Sasuke's side. I don't want those people to have an excuse to get rid of him." He walked closer. "I know you can help him. The question is, are you willing to?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm willing to help him. He's my friend!" Sakura exclaimed.

Ibiki shook his head. "Let me warn you, Miss Haruno, this is not the Sasuke you knew. Don't be surprised if he doesn't even recognize you. All those years as an ANBU have changed him; he's a completely different person now." He let out a sigh. "Don't give me your answer immediately. Take your time, go through that file. Tell me your decision after seven days."

* * *

"Organize your thoughts and focus."

Tsunade would tell Sakura repeatedly during her training. Medic-nins had to have absolute control over their emotions in all situations. This was especially important during difficult missions when the life of the team depended solely on the medic-nin traveling with them. Sakura knew this and prided herself for having held her nerve in many situations when her injured team-mates lay prone before her and she had to heal them.

But no amount of training or experience had prepared her for this.

She closed the file and took deep breaths to calm herself. The moment she had reached home, Sakura had flipped it open and started reading from the first yellowing page to the last for the next five hours straight. It was late into the night and she had finally finished it. She looked down at the file. The words 'Uchiha, Sasuke. Codename: HAWK' stared back at her, mocking her.

She awed at how Sasuke had managed to deceive her and Naruto for nearly two years. As Team 7, they had been assigned only two A-Rank missions and nineteen B-Rank missions. While Sasuke, in the same period, had been assigned eleven undercover A-Rank missions and one S-Rank mission and had successfully completed all of them. The details of the S-Rank mission were conspicuously absent from the file.

He was always so aloof and detached, so hiding his true identity was probably never a problem for him, Sakura thought.

Then he had proceeded to fool the entire Konoha by faking his death. "So whose body was it that they found?" Sakura wondered aloud.

So many questions, so few answers. Contrary to what Ibiki had claimed, the file didn't contain every detail about Sasuke. For one, his missions as the assassin 'HAWK' were missing. The file ended with Sasuke's supposed 'death'. Or perhaps, those details were in a separate file and Ibiki had purposely withheld that information from her.

In fact, there was a lot Ibiki wasn't telling her, like who wanted Sasuke dead. And why?

"How does Ibiki expect me to help Sasuke if he hides all this stuff from me?" Sakura complained to herself. But she was inwardly thankful for that. She didn't think she could handle all of Sasuke's secrets right now.

So what should I do, Sakura wondered. She was starting to see why Ibiki had told her to take her time to decide. She was to evaluate and counsel a potentially dangerous assassin. This wasn't the boy she had fancied herself in love with. Going by the file in her hand, she had no inkling of the real Sasuke even when they were on the same team.

"And he probably doesn't even remember me." Sakura sighed, remembering Ibiki's words. It wasn't like Sasuke had even noticed her existence before.

She stared at the beige wall of her bedroom, a sudden feeling of loneliness enveloping her. She blew a strand of hair falling on to her face and flopped on to her bed. Just thinking about her rendezvous with Ibiki this morning exhausted her. She longed for someone she could talk to about this. Did Kakashi know about this? What would Naruto say if he found out? What would Ino's reaction be? And Shikamaru's?

She knew better than to breathe a word about this to anyone.

Sakura sighed. All things considered, she knew what her answer to Ibiki was going to be. I don't need an entire week to decide, I'll meet him tomorrow, were her last thoughts before she drifted out to sleep.

* * *

Sakura hadn't felt so nervous even for her chuunin exam. She wringed her fingers subconsciously as Ibiki observed her from across the desk in his room. His eyes were narrowed.

"So your answer is a yes?"

Sakura nodded emphatically.

Ibiki's face suddenly split into a grin. "I was expecting as much, Miss Haruno." He got up from his seat. "Though I didn't expect that you would decide so quickly. It's only been a day since we last met…" He looked at her questioningly. Seeing the lack of response from her, he picked up a scroll from the drawer in his desk and walked over to where she was sitting. He held it out to her. "This is your appointment letter. Welcome to the ANBU, Miss Haruno."

Sakura blinked as she took the scroll from him. "That's it? Just like that, now I'm an ANBU?"

He chuckled. "Perhaps you haven't realized this, but you have all the qualifications needed to be an ANBU. You have been trained as a professional medic-nin by the Hokage herself."

"So…is this an undercover thing..?"

"No. At least not the part about you being an ANBU. We are short of medical ninjas on our team, so your addition shouldn't seem strange or suspicious to anyone. You will be required to treat and heal other ANBUs. Your association with Hawk, however, is to be kept secret at all costs."

"Secret from…?"

Ibiki cleared his throat. "From anyone who doesn't know that Sasuke is alive."

"Right," Sakura said with more confidence than she felt.

Ibiki remained silent, as though considering something. "This just occurred to me," he spoke suddenly, "now that you're an ANBU, how about I give you your first assignment?"

Sakura stared at him. "What? Now?"

"Yes. We have an injured ANBU in the infirmary right now. I was going to ask the Hokage to take care of his wounds, but now that you are here…" he raised an eyebrow questioningly, lips curved up in a smirk.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. He's trying to test me, she realized. Nervousness vanishing at the prospect of finally doing something productive, she stood up. "Sure, why not? It's my job now, isn't it?"

Ibiki's smirk grew wider. "Good. Then follow me."

The infirmary was in a completely different part of the ANBU headquarters. Without the man to lead her, Sakura would have probably lost her way in the maze of corridors and doors. Ibiki walked very fast, much to her dismay, and she had to almost run to keep up with him. She was almost panting by the time they reached the infirmary.

Ibiki opened the door for her, looking at her enigmatically. Sakura was breathing heavily when she entered. What she saw inside nearly knocked the breath out of her.

It was Sasuke.

Sakura turned to Ibiki, glaring at him accusingly. She hadn't seen Sasuke in two years, thought that he was dead till yesterday. Surely, such a sudden encounter merited a warning.

Ibiki ignored her and walked in. "Sasuke, how is your arm?" The dark-haired man muttered something inaudible in response.

Sakura remained frozen in her spot. Sasuke hadn't bothered looking up. He was alone in the room and sat at the edge of a solitary bed, dressed in the standard black and gray ANBU uniform. His right arm guard was missing and in its place was a blood-soaked bandage.

"Sasuke, let me introduce you to our new medical-nin- Miss Haruno. She will be treating your wounds today," Ibiki said, seemingly nonchalantly.

Sasuke spared a brief, disinterested glance at Sakura. She felt her heart sink. There was no indication of recognition in that glance.

"Why don't you come in, Miss Haruno? Sasuke got himself into a skirmish yesterday, which is actually quite rare. I'm sure you'll be able to heal him, won't you Miss Haruno?" Ibiki asked, inclining his head in her direction.

Sakura glared at the older man, willing to wipe the smirk off his face. However, without a word she made her way to Sasuke and sat beside him. She drew upon every ounce of self-control she had learnt during her training with Tsunade to will her nerves to calm down. "Let me see that arm."

She couldn't bear to look him in the eye, so she focused on his badly bandaged arm. Pretend you're treating just another nameless patient, she told herself.

She removed the pin holding the bandage together and slowly started unwinding it. Blood had already started leaking and she pursed her lips on seeing the deep gash in the flesh. "This wound hasn't been cleaned properly," she said neutrally. "You can't bandage a wound without cleaning it. It can turn septic." She turned to face Ibiki. "Could I have a bowl of water and a clean towel? I need to clean the wound before I patch it up with my Shosen Jutsu."

Ibiki's eyes shone in appreciation of her composure. "I'll see that you get what you require, Miss Haruno." He nodded and giving Sasuke a cursory glance, he left.

Completely removing what was left of the bandage, Sakura examined the wound more closely. She felt Sasuke's gaze on her, but ignored it.

"The last two years have been good to you."

Sakura nearly fell off her chair in shock. She looked up to find dark eyes staring at her curiously.

"You look beautiful…Sakura…"

It would have seemed like a compliment, if it were not for the fact that his voice was as cold as the sneer on his lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** This chapter took slightly long to come out than it should have…:grumbles about her recent flurry of exams: Thank you for all those lovely reviews! It's nice to know that you guys are enjoying this story :D

**-3-**

Shikamaru raised his glass. "To Sakura and her new, ennui-free job," he said earnestly, before gulping down the sake.

"Why do we always have to discuss our jobs whenever we hang out?"

Ino raised an eyebrow at her best friend. "Sakura, are you forgetting…we're here to celebrate your new job?" she pointed out.

Sakura sighed resignedly. "Oh, yeah…"

Shikamaru frowned. "Why the long face? The way you used to bitch and whine about your old job, I was expecting a bit more enthusiasm."

"Well, I wouldn't be too enthusiastic if I was working for Ibiki Morino. I mean, that guy gives me the creeps," Ino said, shuddering.

"But this is Sakura we're talking about. She loves a good challenge."

Ino narrowed her eyes at Shikamaru. "What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I'm afraid of challenges?"

Shikamaru raised both hands in mock surrender. "Er…of course not. What I meant was you like to play it safe, while Sakura…" he trailed away at the blazing look on Ino's face.

"Play it safe?" Ino asked, voice shaking slightly with suppressed annoyance. "Nearly getting killed in one of my missions so that indolent idiots like you can sleep in peace, is that what you call "playing it safe"?"

"But didn't you ask for Sakura's old job at the Genin Medical Evaluation Center from Tsunade just yesterday?" Shikamaru smirked lazily at Ino's indignant expression as she tried to think of a good comeback.

Sakura rolled her eyes, sensing another of their silly arguments coming on. She tuned their bickering out and looked around the little restaurant they were sitting in. People were talking loudly, chatting, and having a good time. Naruto sat beside her, noisily slurping his ramen, completely ignoring her and the squabbling couple. On the opposite side of the table, Ino's face was flushed in anger as she retorted back to Shikamaru's light teasing.

All of it made Sakura feel oddly lonely.

"It's just that…I've been thinking about Sasuke…"

It was as if the entire restaurant had gone silent. Sakura felt the shocked stares from three pairs of eyes as she cursed herself for having said those words out loud. She kept her gaze fixed on the forgotten plate of food before her.

There was a long moment of tense silence before Shikamaru spoke slowly, "Sakura…are you feeling alright?"

It was a moot question. Sakura knew she didn't have to answer that question for her friends to know that no, she was definitely not feeling alright. She had never voluntarily brought up the topic of Sasuke since he supposedly died. It was like a taboo subject for all of them, especially so for her.

She sighed in frustration. She was torn between wanting to talk about Sasuke and avoiding the topic altogether.

"Sakura…?"

Sakura looked up and pursed her lips. "You know what, I haven't been myself lately. And this whole celebration thing was a bad idea. I just want to be alone right now." She grabbed her handbag and stood up.

"Is this because of your new job?"

Sakura met Ino's confused gaze. "Yes…I mean, no…I mean…it's more complicated than that," she stammered. Ino parted her lips to say something but Sakura cut her off. "I don't want to talk about it." Conscious of the puzzled and surprised glances of her friends she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, I'll be off now. You guys have fun, don't worry about me," she smiled weakly. "I…just need some alone time…"

She left the restaurant without waiting for a reply.

It had been a week since her unexpected meeting with Sasuke. Even though she had managed to maintain her composure in front of him, she was nearly hyperventilating by the time she came back home. His cold sneer, his cryptic remarks, his calling her "beautiful"…she didn't know what to make of any of that. Confusion, befuddlement, combined with mental exhaustion was already making her regret the fact that she had agreed to go along with this.

Her short meeting with Sasuke had been immediately interrupted by Ibiki's arrival and she had been thankful for that. Quickly healing his wound, Sakura had all but raced out of the room. Before she'd left the ANBU HQ however, Ibiki told her to take some time off to reorganize her life to adjust to her new job and to set her thoughts straight. She'd gratefully agreed and asked for ten days.

Now that didn't seem like a good idea. For the past one week she had been doing nothing but going crazy just thinking about what had happened and tearing her hair out in frustration of not being able to talk about this to anyone.

"Sakura! Wait!"

She turned around to find Naruto running to catch up with her. He stopped in front of her, panting only slightly. They were almost a block away from the restaurant now.

"What the hell was all that about?" he asked angrily.

Sakura gave a start. "I told you, I don't want to-"

"Talk about it, yeah, yeah I heard you. But I know you for a long time now Sakura and I know that when you say that it means that you want to talk about it, badly." Naruto said, his voice becoming milder as he spoke.

Sakura didn't reply. Naruto put both hands behind his head as he usually did when he wanted to ease the tension. "Come on, I'll walk you home," he said, giving her his best smile.

Sakura smiled slightly as they both started walking slowly. There were a few moments of silence before Naruto began, "So out with it, what's the deal with your new job?"

"I told you, I'm like the official medic-nin at the ANBU HQ. That's all there is to it."

"Then why have you been so distant and…I don't know…distracted since you met Ibiki?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he continued, "Did he…say something about…about Sasuke…?" his voice was a near whisper when he said the name.

Sakura's felt her eyes widen. "Why-why would you think that?"

"Well, for one, there's your little outburst back in the restaurant. Then I've never seen you like this since…well, you know…"

When did Naruto become so observant, Sakura wondered. She still silently refused to reply.

"I've never told you this before…but I've always been suspicious about his death."

Sakura froze mid-step. "What?" Her voice came out as a squeak.

Naruto's face was dead serious when he replied, "Him just dying like that, I don't buy it."

"But you were the one who told me that he died!" Sakura winced when she realized that her voice was still high-pitched.

Naruto stared at the ground. "I really thought he had…initially. But then when I thought about it, it just seemed more and more ridiculous. I didn't tell you before 'cause I didn't want you to get any false hopes…"

Sakura simply stared at him speechless.

He shrugged and gave a tight smile. "I mean, the Uchiha prodigy getting killed in a forest-fire is a bit of stretch, isn't it?"

Sakura frowned. "Forest-fire? You told me he was killed by a pyromaniac ninja!"

"Yeah, a forest-fire started by a pyromaniac ninja…but he's too smart to let himself be trapped like that, don't you think?"

Sakura closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "Why…are you telling me this…now?"

"Because I think Ibiki knows something and I'm sure Ibiki told you something and you wouldn't be so affected by anything else!" he blurted out.

Sakura's eyes shot open as she considered his words. Naruto…she could talk to Naruto! He would understand…help her deal with this. She just had to be a bit discreet…

Discreet, she thought incredulously, how can we possibly be discreet when we're talking about this in a public place?

And all of a sudden the gravity of what she was about to do crashed down on her. She was endangering the lives of both her and Naruto by underestimating Ibiki. Fear and panic gripped her and she knew she had to get away from Naruto before any more damage was done.

Her eyes scanned the narrow street nervously, looking for black and grey uniforms and animal-masks. Putting on a metaphoric mask of her own, she said fiercely, "Naruto, my job has nothing to do with Sasuke. I would appreciate it if you stopped hounding me about it and left me alone."

Missing the hurt look on his face, she spun around and walked off.

* * *

Sakura sighed and relaxed into the warmth of the water and bubbles floating around her. God, did she need this! Feeling her muscles loosen a bit, she tapped into her chakra. It was swirling rapidly and randomly. Focusing her mind, she willed her chakra to dulcify. This was one of the most effective techniques she'd learnt from Tsunade to relax.

The combined effects of the technique and the buoyancy of the water in the bathtub completely eased out the tension in her entire body. Within ten minutes her mind was clearer than it had been for the past one week. She wondered why she hadn't thought of doing this earlier. Probably because she had been so distracted by everything that had happened.

Remembering her talk with Naruto earlier that evening, she felt guilty for rebuffing him like she did. Although she had no choice in the matter. She had to distance him for awhile for his safety…and for the sake of Sasuke…

My life seems to revolve around Sasuke, doesn't it, she thought with dark amusement.

There was a time when she had been convinced that she was in love with Uchiha Sasuke. She didn't believe that anymore. She did care for him though, just as much as she cared for Naruto, maybe more so. She also acknowledged that he was quite attractive. But she was certain that what she felt for him wasn't love…how could you love someone you barely knew?

Not that she knew what love was either. Apart from a couple of failed romances and an awkward kiss with Shikamaru (which was one of the things they never talked about), her love-life was non-existent. It wasn't because of lack of admirers, but because she wanted a relationship that wasn't based on physical attraction alone. Ino called her a prude for it.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt a prickling behind her neck. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up straight. She was being watched, she knew it. She had enough experience on missions with Team 7 to know when one was being spied upon. If there was one thing she was proud of, it was her excellent chakra control, and she could use her chakra to sense the auras given out by another's.

And this wasn't the first time she'd felt like she was being watched since her meeting with Ibiki. So she wasn't really surprised.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, but the prickling sensation was gone. She frowned. Whoever was watching her had managed to mask their chakra. Someone quite powerful, she deduced, an ANBU probably. In fact, they probably had been masking their chakra for awhile, but something had caused this person's concentration to slip briefly.

Probably got a peek into my bathroom, she thought in annoyance and embarrassment.

Getting up from the bathtub, she put on her bathrobe. If this person was in her house, they'd have hell to pay.

Ten minutes of searching didn't yield any results, unsurprisingly. Sakura huffed in anger as she plunked on the sofa. Did working for the ANBU mean you had no privacy? It was a good thing she had stopped her conversation with Naruto earlier. She was now quite sure that Ibiki had sent spies to watch her every move.

Her gaze went to the window on the opposite wall. The curtains were drawn apart and she could see the faint moonlight illuminating the trees outside her house. Feeling uneasy, she made her way to the window and clutched at the curtains, preparing to close them, when she spotted a lone figure standing beneath the trees.

Almost immediately the figure vanished.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. In the faint moonlight she hadn't seen her watcher's face…but there had been no mistaking the hair.

Sasuke.


End file.
